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State road construction season winds down

ST. PAUL – Major bridge construction, new interchanges and road resurfacing were a big part of the 2013 construction season, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

This year’s program included more than 300 projects around the state with a construction cost of more than $1.1 billion.

The 2013 construction program included work on 87 highway and bridge projects in the Twin Cities and 193 highway and bridge projects in greater Minnesota. An additional 57 projects statewide focused on improving safety at railroad crossings, repairing seawalls and docks, improving runways and terminals at regional airports, and improving transit centers.

“We started this season with more than 300 projects on the schedule,” said MnDOT Commissioner Charlie Zelle. “Many of the projects are now complete. The work is providing safer, smoother roadways and is maintaining the transportation network that is so vital to our state’s economy and quality of life.”

Highway 10/Highway 75 Moorhead improvement project – Work is complete on the construction project that included pedestrian accessibility ramps, signal upgrades, a fiber-optic network and the resurfacing of a four block stretch of Highway 10. The project also included the installation of a pedestrian-activated HAWK signal on Highway 75/Eighth Street near Concordia College. Work ran from May to September. (Construction cost: $4.8 million)

Highway 78 resurfacing and Battle Lake reconstruction – Work on Highway 78 between Battle Lake and Perham is nearly complete. Crews are resurfacing 26 miles Highway 78 and reconstructing a section of the roadway in downtown Battle Lake. The Battle Lake portion of the project includes utility upgrades and pedestrian and bicycle improvements. (Construction cost: $6.5 million)

I-535/Highway 53 Blatnik Bridge Rehabilitation – The project, which involved high-end maintenance work designed to extend the life of the bridge, was completed in October. The work included, replacing expansion joints, traffic rail and lighting system, strengthening gusset plates, sandblasting and painting. (Construction cost: $12.9 million)

I-35 Unbonded Concrete Overlay from Scanlon to Proctor – This project was completed in October and provides motorists with 10 miles of smoother road surface for traveling. The project also included a reconstructed underpass at Highway 61 and Guss Road and the completed reconstruction of Highway 2 from Boundary Avenue to Skyline Parkway. (Construction cost: $30.1 million)

Highway 9 between Ada to the Norman/Polk County line - Work is nearing completion on a 12-mile resurfacing project that also included the replacement of culverts along Highway 9 and the installation of a sub-surface drain on Highway 200 in Ada. (Construction cost: $5.02 million)

Highway 15/County Road 120 in Sartell and St. Cloud - The project replaced an at-grade signalized intersection with a diverging diamond interchange and was completed in October. This is the second diverging diamond interchange to open in Minnesota, and the first with a fully operational signal system. The interchange is the final component of a multi-project initiative that improves safety and mobility on a system serving busy business districts and residential areas in two cities. (Construction cost: $10 million)

I-94 between Clearwater and St. Cloud – Work was completed in July on the project to repave 7.5 miles of one of Minnesota’s busiest roads using an unbonded concrete overlay, where new concrete pavement is placed over the existing pavement. The new pavement is expected to last 30 years. (Construction cost: $16.4 million)